Inner closure for containers



Sept 12, "94*? w. w

INNER CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Filed March 19, i941 lir INVENT l f' M ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 12, 1944 INNER, onosuaaron CONTAINERS I .Wilfred Wild, Elmhurst, N. Y.

Application March 19, 1941, Serial No. 384,053

1 claim.

At the present time it is coimnon practice to package certain cosmetics, particularly those known under the general heading of creams,

and like semi-fluid or pasty materials, in containers such as jars which are usually provided with closures in the form of screw caps. The screw top caps are usually lined with paper, paper board, or some other material so that when the screw cap is tightened down a reasonable amount the jar and cap combined are practically air tight thereby retarding evaporation or other deterioration of the contents.

war or become distorted. Often these liners which were supposed only to lie on the surface of the material in the jar became partially imbedded in the material. Sometimes the material oozed past this inner liner and came in contact with the inside of the cap or the cap liner. These In general practice the jar is filled to a level jar from coming in contact with this cap liner there has been in vogue for some years a practice of following several methods, two of the more popular of which are:

(1) Packers sealed overthe mouth of the open jar on the lip a material made of paper or sheeting of some kind of an opaque, translucent or transparent type. This inner seal or liner was not usually in actual contact with contents of the jar as such jars are usually filled to a level just below the lip 'of the jar.

An objection by some to this method has been that actual sealing was difiicult and expensive. Even when a. good seal was made it was easily spoiled by handling or examining by prospective customers. Another objection, particularly with the transparent or-translucent type of seal or liner has been that it became foggy or acquired beads of moisture on the inner surface due to evaporation of the contents and condensation. Furthermore the contents of the jar came in actual contact with thi inner liner in shipment or "upon handling and adhered to it in an unsightly manner. Any of these eventualities and others meant that the package was less attractive.

(2) Packers used a piece of material made of paper or other material of an opaque, translucent or transparent material cut to conform to the shape of the mouth of the jar but somewhat smaller in size. This type of inner liner was placed in actual contact with the contents of the,

jar. I

Some of the objections to this method was that the moist contents of the jar caused this liner to eventualities also resulted in a less attractive package. 7

When packages of the foregoing types are examined by prospective customers such customers frequently refuse to accept the package and express dissatisfaction as to the appearance thereof. Otherwise attractively packaged merchandise made a poor impression. Many of such packages were returned for repair, repacking or for credit. These factors were an aggravation to all concerned and were a source of increased cost, trouble and expense.

Experience has demonstrated. that prospective customers of these materials almost invariably desire to look at the actual substance in-the container before buying the article. Such prospective customers usually desire to ascertain whether the container is full and to satisfy themselves as to the color, texture or scent of the ingredients in the jar. They accordingly, almost invariably,

before purchasing the article, unscrew the cover 7 of the jar and then lift up the thin paper layer in order to look at the actual material itself or smell the contents. Frequently, in doing this, the thin paper liner is torn or turned over when it is lifted up. In other cases it is improperly replaced, wrinkled or'left in an unsightly condition. Containers such as jars of cosmetics or like materials which have been inspected in this manner by one prospective customer and left in an unsightly condition frequently are rejected by another customer and become unsalable and have to be returned to the manufacturer for repackaging. Sealed down inner liners cannot be removed without spoiling the appearance of the package. This frequently happens.

The present invention has for its general object the provision of an improved container for cosmetics and like semi-fluids or pasty materials A liquid material will be prevented from escaping and coming in contact with the inner side of the I cap or cap liner.

Further objects of the present invention reside in the provision of various novel features of construction to the general end that appearance and salability of the packaged product may be enhanced.

Another object is to provide a construction wherein surface evaporation will be retarded.

Another object is to provide a construction adapted to render evaporation less noticeable when it occurs by causing the material to adhere to the inner surface of the liner and to cause the loss of volume of the contents to be'below the materialadhering to the inner surface of the liner.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 shows a top plan view of a filled Jarlike container, including the improved inner cover. Certain parts are shown broken away;

Fig. 2 is a central sectional view taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a filled Jar with'the outer closure cap removed and shows the inner cover partially elevated; and

tion does occur with some of the material in the jar the evaporated surface will not be visible with the transparent cover in place because of the presence of the material which had adhered to the inner surface of the cover at the time of filling the jar. The inner cover will also prevent the contents of the jar from coming in contact with the inside of the cap and rendering the inside of the cap unsightly.

When the screw cap outer closure is removed by a prospective customer. if the customer desires to look at the actual material in the jar, the inner cover may be readily lifted up in the manner indicated in Fig. 3. The prospective customer can then directly inspect the contents of the jar for color, shade, odor, consistency, and general appearance and even though there has been some evaporation of the contents the material adhering to the inner cover makes the jar closure 12. Within the cap there may be provided the usual inner sealing disk II which is formed of paper, card-board or like material. The inner cover is preferably made of relatively thin and substantially transparent plastic material such as a cellulose acetate plastic or other plastics having a generally similar appearance. Such inner cover comprises a peripheral rim portion it, a depending portion l5 and a transverse 'or bottom portion IS. The rim portion I4 may vary in width depending .on the type of Jar, but its outer diameter should preferably be smaller than that of the inside of the cap to avoid contact between the rim of the cover and the inwardly extending threads of the jar cap. The depth of the depending portion I! while fixed for a given package may vary according to the depthoi' the material in the jar. The depending portion should, however, be made deep enough to enable the depressed or bottom portion II to establish contact with the top of the material ll in the container or jar. The outer diameter of the depending flange part it should preferably be a few thousandths of an inch less than the inside of the jar mouth.

When the jars are filled at the factory, they are filled not quite to the top of the mouth of the jar, The inside cover l4, l5, I8 is then ap-- plied and the transverse bottom part It is gently pressed into contact with the top of the material in the Jar. It is intended that the material in the jar should adhere to the'inner cover and this action occurs when a thin transparent plastic cover is utilized. When in place the inner cover retards surface evaporation and ii evaporaappear full and thus increases the salability and (store shelf) life of the product. After the inner cover has been thus partially removed, it may be readily replaced even by an inexperienced person and when replaced it will againpresent a sightly appearance. The inner cover should have a certain amount of resilience and flexibility to enable the cover to be readily removed and replaced. When in place it should have-a reasonably free fit in the Jar mouth. The inner cover should be rigid enough to withstand change in shape under the influence of moisture, aging of the product, etc.

The inner cover should preferably be somewhat fiexible and resilient so that it may flex and bend somewhat when it is being removed or replaced by a customer. It will be appreciated that the plastic inner cover is not intended to be or act as the seal for the container when the outer closure cap is in place. Sealing is preferably provided for by the rim portion of the sealing disk ii.

If desired, the inner cover may bear suitable printed legends, such as the name of the 'manufacturer,the trade name, or grade of the product, or instructions, and the like.

In the practical use of such improved containers experience has demonstrated that salability of the product is enhanced. Customers may readily inspect the product after removing the outer cover by visual inspection of the contents through the content revealing transparent inner cover. On the other hand, if the prospective customer wishes to directly look at the actual product itself which is within the container, this may be readily accomplished by lifting up the inner cover in the manner previously described. Thereafter the customer can readily replace the inner cover and invariably the container or package as a whole after said replacement of the inner and outer cover will be sightly and salable. The improved construction-also permits jars to be displayed upon a counter with outer cap closure removed. The inner cover will protect the contents during such display.

What is claimed is:

A cosmetic package, comprising a container having a pasty cosmetic material therein, said container having a top rim defining an opening, a readily detachable transparent content-revealing inner cover of plastic material having a downwardly extending wall surrounding a central portion depending from and extending below the rim of said opening, contacting and pressing against said pasty cosmetic material and which material adheres thereto, so as to minimize the surface evaporation of said contents and at the same time to make said contents viewable through said inner cover, said inner cover being so proportioned ,as to provide clearance between the wall of said depending central bottom portion andthe internal limit of the opening to said container as to fit freely within said opening and be easily tiltable from its seated position upon the rim of said container, said depending portion being bounded by an integral peripheral flangelike rlm portion of sumcient width to seat upon the rim of said container, said inner cover being suflicieritly rigid to maintain its shape while in use and during the tilting of the inner cover for inspection of the contents of the container, and

a readily detachable outer closure for said con- Janet-cover may be raised for examination of 10 the odor andconsistency of the contents, at will.

without spoiling the original appearance of the cosmetic package and contents.

WIILFRED WILD. 

